Wednesday, October 30, 2013
electric narrow gauge industrial train of Sankt Egidien near Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany
No date. There was a nickel smelter at Sankt Egidien in DDR days; narrow gauge trains were commonly used in mining because they enabled tighter curves than standard gauge.
Alger to Capetown Rally, 1956
Poster for the third rally, 9,500 miles or 15,200 km from Algiers to the Cape via the Sahara, Congo Belge, Rhodesia and finally South Africa - it looks like quite an adventure, particularly in those days.
phosphate freight cars at Redeyef, Tunisia, late 1900s
The station, the terminus of the 44 km railway from Métlaoui, was opened in 1907, and this postcard probably dates from not long after. Redeyef's main revenue comes from the mining of phosphate, about 8 million tonnes a year and the world's 5th largest producer. Redeyef also sees a daily passenger train, popular with tourists because it traverse the scenic Gorges de Selja, info and pics here
Firestone tires advert, early 20th century
This is another transport word which has an interesting etymology. It comes from the French tirer, to pull, and originally referred to iron hoops or thick wires bound to carriage wheels and pulled onto the rim. This is still the case with older railway wheels; basically the tire prevents the need to replace the whole wheel and axle set when worn spots develop - the old tire is removed by heating (steel expands when hot) and pulling it off. The new tire is likewise heated by fire and pulled/hammered on. However, tough monoblock wheels have become increasingly common.
Where the British developed the 'tyre' respelling from isn't clear, it first emerged in the 1900s but wasn't generally accepted until the late 1920s.
Car tires were typically made of solid rubber until the pneumatic tire became the norm. The French word for a tire is pneu from pneumatique.
the Heinkel Tourist scooter
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| 'our dream [is] a Heinkel Tourist' |
The Heinkel Tourist was an upmarket motor scooter made by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke from 1953 to 1965. It was heavier, more comfortable, more stable and more expensive than a Vespa or a Lambretta. It was available with a speedometer, a steering lock, a clock, a luggage carrier, and a spare wheel. Marketing referred to it as "The Rolls-Royce of Scooters" in England and as "The Cadillac of Scooters" by a dealer in Massachusetts. More than 100,000 were sold.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Monaco Grand Prix, 1929
This limited edition art print Monaco Grand Prix 1929 by Alfredo De la Maria shows race winner William Grover-Williams in his green Bugatti T35B and second placed Georges Bouriano in his yellow Bugatti T35C, followed by Rudolf Caracciola in his Mercedes-Benz SSK.
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